College of Education

Fourteenth Faculty Survey

April 2001

This document contains results of the 2001 Faculty Survey for
the College of Education (28 faculty members responding). Results from the previous
three Faculty Surveys
in 1998, 1999, and 2000 are provided for
comparison's sake (when possible).

Administrative Ratings

Faculty were asked, on a scale of 1 to 5, to indicate their confidence in, or
opinion of, the effectiveness of the following USA personnel. On the scale, 1
represented "very poor" and 5 represented "excellent." The
higher, the better.

2001

2000

1999

1998

President

3.37

3.26

3.2

3.0

Vice-President for Academic Affairs

2.59

2.73

3.1

3.6

Vice-President for Medical Affairs

2.71

n/a

2.3

3.0

Vice-President for Financial Affairs

3.60

3.89

2.6

not asked

Vice-President for Student Affairs

3.10

3.63

3.4

not asked

Your Own Dean

3.57

3.81

3.4

3.2

University Leadership (President,
VPs)

Indicate your opinion about how
highly you rate the university leadership in each of these respects
(1 indicates "very poor"; 5 indicates "excellent").

2001

2000

1999

1998

Honors all promises and commitments

3.15

not asked

not asked

not asked

Is impartial and professional in
relations with faculty

2.81

not asked

not asked

not asked

Conveys administrative expectations in
a clear and effective manner

2.88

not asked

not asked

not asked

Informs faculty of developments
critical to the accomplishment of the mission of the university

3.07

not asked

not asked

not asked

Seeks and incorporates faculty input
into decisions concerning matters vital to the mission of the university

2.48

not asked

not asked

not asked

Encourages new initiatives which
further the mission of the university

2.63

not asked

not asked

not asked

Seeks and dedicates ample resources to
fulfillment of university mission

2.48

not asked

not asked

not asked

Responds to crisis with appropriate
measures

Yes
No

64%
36%

not
asked

not
asked

not
asked

Dean of the College of Education

Faculty were asked, on a scale of 1 to 5, to indicate their opinion of their
own college's dean. On the scale, 1 represented "very poor" and 5
represented "excellent." The higher, the better.

Evaluate Your Dean on each of these matters

2001

2000

1999

1998

Honors all promises and commitments

3.69

3.92

3.7

3.9

Is impartial and professional in evaluating the performance
of co-workers

3.35

3.79

3.1

3.5

Informs faculty of developments critical to the
accomplishment of the mission of the unit

3.25

3.44

3.0

3.1

Conveys administrative expectations in a clear and effective
manner

3.25

3.52

3.0

3.2

Seeks and incorporates
faculty input into decisions concerning matters vital to the mission of
the unit

2.85

not asked

not asked

not asked

Encourages new initiatives which are logical extensions of
existing programs

3.31

3.62

3.2

3.3

Seeks and dedicates ample resources to assure
success/completion of an assignment

3.26

3.63

3.4

3.6

Is a proficient and productive administrator, and should be
retained

3.59

3.88

3.4

3.6

Experiences at USA

Teaching

2001

2000

1999

1998

At USA, how would you rate the importance of teaching
performance to your personal career satisfaction?
(1="of no importance"; 5="very important")

4.56

4.14

4.3

4.2

How much emphasis do faculty leaders and administrators at
USA place on effective teaching for career advancement?
(1="too little emphasis"; 5="excessive emphasis")

2.68

2.36

2.6

2.5

Are you provided with adequate and appropriate resources to
teach effectively at USA?
(1="very inadequate"; 5="very adequate")

3.36

3.04

3.2

3.2

Will an additional course per
semester added to faculty teaching loads have a damaging effect on the
university's research mission?

Yes
No

75%
25%

not
asked

not
asked

not
asked

Research and Publications/Creative Work

2001

2000

1999

1998

At USA, how would you rate the importance of research or
creative work to your personal career satisfaction?
(1="of no importance"; 5="very important")

3.79

3.93

4.0

4.0

How much emphasis do faculty leaders and administrators at
USA place on research or creative work for career advancement?
(1="too little emphasis"; 5="excessive emphasis")

3.74

4.14

3.8

4.1

Are you provided with adequate and appropriate resources to
conduct research or creative work at USA?
(1="very inadequate"; 5="very adequate")

3.32

2.96

2.8

2.8

Service and Leadership

2001

2000

1999

1998

At USA, how would you rate the importance of institutional
service to your personal career satisfaction?
(1="of no importance"; 5="very important")

3.32

3.21

3.4

3.4

How much emphasis do faculty leaders and administrators at
USA place on institutional service for career advancement?
(1="too little emphasis"; 5="excessive emphasis")

2.58

2.61

2.5

2.9

Are you provided with adequate and appropriate resources to
engage in institutional service at USA?
(1="very inadequate"; 5="very adequate")

3.07

3.00

3.1

3.1

Computer Services Center

2001

2000

1999

1998

How satisfied are you with the USA Computer Services Center
in terms of its ability to keep abreast of the latest technologies?
(1="very dissatisfied"; 5="very satisfied")

3.27

3.44

3.5

3.7

How satisfied are you with the USA Computer Services Center
in terms of the services provided?
(1="very dissatisfied"; 5="very satisfied")

3.36

3.63

3.5

3.6

Libraries

Faculty were asked to respond to these questions for the library (or
libraries) they use.

University Library

2001

2000

1999

1998

How satisfied are you with the USA Library in terms of its
ability to keep you abreast of the latest trends and developments in the
field of your research?
(1="very dissatisfied"; 5="very satisfied")

3.18

3.07

2.5

2.7

How satisfied are you with the services provided by the
Library faculty and staff?
(1="very dissatisfied"; 5="very satisfied")

3.96

3.93

3.5

3.7

How satisfied are you with the electronic library and
Internet-based services provided by the Library?
(1="very dissatisfied"; 5="very satisfied")

3.92

3.86

3.4

3.5

Biomedical Library

2001

2000

1999

1998

How satisfied are you with the Biomedical Library in terms
of its ability to keep you abreast of the latest trends and developments
in the field of your research?
(1="very dissatisfied"; 5="very satisfied")

3.50

3.25

3.2

3.4

How satisfied are you with the services provided by the
Library faculty and staff?
(1="very dissatisfied"; 5="very satisfied")

3.20

3.75

3.4

4.3

How satisfied are you with the electronic library and
Internet-based services provided by the Library?
(1="very dissatisfied"; 5="very satisfied")

3.80

3.67

3.4

3.4

Faculty Morale

Figures for 1998 and 1999 were
rounded to the nearest 10% when originally reported and are reproduced as
approximations here.

If you had a variety of professional options, would you
prefer to:

2001

2000

1999

1998

Remain at USA with little or no change in duties

42.9%

46.7%

~40%

~40%

Remain at USA with significant change in duties

17.9%

30%

~10%

~30%

Move to another institution

35.7%

20%

~40%

~40%

Move to non-academic employment

3.6%

3.3%

~10%

~0%

2001

2000

1999

1998

How satisfied are you with opportunities currently provided
by USA to concentrate on what you do best?
(1="very dissatisfied"; 5="very satisfied")

2.81

3.31

3.1

3.1

How do you feel about your degree of academic freedom within
the classroom?
(1="very dissatisfied"; 5="very satisfied")

3.96

4.38

4.0

4.5

How satisfied are you with the amount of freedom you have at
USA to express your opinions regarding University policies and procedures?
(1="very dissatisfied"; 5="very satisfied")

3.15

3.10

2.8

3.2

Miscellaneous

Note: the single question used prior to the 2000
survey regarding the Faculty Senate was divided into two parts beginning in 2000
and thus cannot be directly compared. The
previous question read "The Faculty Senate serves as an effective
representative body." In the 1999 survey, this question received a
mean response from College of Education faculty members of 2.8; in the 1998 survey, the question received a mean
response of 2.5.

2001

2000

1999

1998

The organization and administration of the University allow
the Faculty Senate to serve as an effective representative body
(1="strongly disagree"; 5="strongly agree")

2.31

2.59

not asked in this form

not asked in this form

Members of the Senate work hard and concentrate on the
proper issues to promote faculty interests effectively
(1="strongly disagree"; 5="strongly agree")

3.92

3.36

not asked in this form

not asked in this form

The USA Board of Trustees serves as an effective governing
body for the institution
(1="strongly disagree"; 5="strongly agree")

Please rate the USA Bookstore in terms of providing adequate
and affordable services, materials, and texts to your students
(1="very poor"; 5="excellent")

3.04

2.89

3.0

2.8

Please rate the USA Bookstore
in terms of providing faculty with timely notification of materials which
have to be back ordered or requested texts which are found to be out of
print.
(1="very poor"; 5="excellent")

3.32

not asked

not asked

not asked

Please rate the idea of establishing a conference center on
the main campus for meetings, seminars, retreats, etc.
(1="very poor"; 5="excellent")